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Good things begin with g

July 17, 2015

It’s hard to find the right analogy to express what it is exactly that we’ve witnessed over the last 10 years at gDiapers. We built the dock, and our neighbors supplied the lake? We brought the soup kettle, and our dinner guests brought all the ingredients? Or maybe it’s just as straightforward as this: We designed the diaper, but the community, that was all you.

You showed us early on that you had a passion for this re-defined disposable diaper with the cute gPants on the outside, and we couldn’t help but fall right back in love with you. And that good energy was the thing that made this magnet — this nucleus of good vibes — draw in other mothers, fathers, babies, grandparents, aunts, uncles and more. Those good vibes soared out on the air like the wispy seeds of a whitened dandelion. They made things happen, they made more good vibes grow.

Good Vibes for Mason

In July of 2011 one of our gMums, Jenni, shared this update about her brand new baby, Mason:

“Please keep Mason in your prayers. We have admitted him to the hospital for possible bacterial meningitis. We’re waiting on the results from the spinal tap.”

Immediately, Good Vibes for Mason went viral. Hundreds of moms and dads, people who had never met Jenni and her family, changed their Facebook profile pics to our Good Vibes gPants, sending all the good vibes they could muster to help heal newborn Mason. Kim and Jason signed a gTote and it was auctioned off with all proceeds going to support Mason’s growing medical bills. A scary and vulnerable event became the gathering point for a community committed to a baby they had never met. Today Mason is a thriving and healthy 4-year-old, and the good vibes are still going strong.

In support of baby Mason, hundreds of parents changed their profile pictures to their little ones wearing Good Vibes gPants. (A big thank you to Janet Phillips for the collage!)

A New Take On “It Takes A Village”

When gDiapers first opened office in Portland, OR, we had onsite childcare for our handful of employees. We called it The Village, inspired by the dear-to-our-hearts adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But eventually we began to see The Village emerge under a whole new light. We saw you, this blossoming and energetic community, hosting gTeas in your own towns, up-cycling old gPants into new and wonderful things, raising your hands to help other gMums, gDads and their families achieve goals, ease transitions, and recover from disasters. The Village was actually you. You were raising each other, as well as raising us.

UK gMum Michelle shares a story of how the The Village rallied around her and her family in a time of need.

In September 2014, just as I was about to return to work following Maternity Leave we were burgled. They came into the house and took among other things my change bag before driving off in my new car (2 weeks old).

I was devastated. You don’t quite appreciate how much you have in your change bag until it’s gone. With 2 in cloth, mine had a significant gStash in it (8 complete gPants with gCloths plus extras), alongside my gSippy and my ringsling. At the time, the only thing my daughter would drink from was the gSippy.

I turned to the gCommunity to let off steam and moan to people who would understand. What happened next brought me to tears.

A few days later I received a package in the post from gNappies, with a little note saying they had heard about our sad news and hoped their little gift helped us out. The package contained a selection of gorgeous brand new gPants in both my daughter’s and my son’s sizes. I was speechless.

A few days after that I received another package, this one however was from the gCommunity itself. A bunch of mums and dads who chat on the Internet about kids and nappies had come together to help one of their own. People had donated nappies to replace the specific prints stolen, others had donated funds to purchase a new gSippy, I even received a new change bag! I was completely overwhelmed. The generosity and genuine care shown was very touching. Both children are starting to potty train now so we will soon be moving away from gNappies but I have made some great friends in the gCommunity and I will always be living by the g ethos in life.

Michelle and her children got some of their favorite gPants and gear replaced, thanks to the kindness of gCommunity members like you.

Inspiring Each Other

When communities come together, it’s like reinforcing a bridge. We connect, we communicate, we share, and that bridge just gets stronger. It has been your passion and commitment to each other that inspires us to pursue and nurture partnerships that make effective, tangible change and reinforces that bridge. We’re now in this amazing cycle where we all keep inspiring each other, around and around, creating an electric buzz of positivity amongst us. With our recent Every Mother Counts partnership, two mamas were inspired to get more involved and offered up their own unique talents as a way to give back both to the gDiapers community and to EMC.

“Throughout our time using gDiapers, we have admired the consistent partnerships that gDiapers has made with such great charities and worth causes. The newest partnership with Every Mother Counts has inspired me! Although my husband and I experienced the struggles of infertility and needing to spend quite a lot of money and time going to doctors in order to help our dream of becoming parents come true, we still had the means to access the medical community to help us with that dream. So I can only imagine how incredibly difficult it is for so many women who have no access to hospitals at all, to go through labor and deliver their babies without the help they need. EMC helps these women get the medical attention they truly need! My favorite g word is genuine, and 100% of the profits from each gMum mug that I make will go directly to Every Mother Counts!”

Melissa East added colorful gemstones to our ‘genuine’ charms to make these unique keychains.

We were first introduced to gDiapers when Hana turned 2 months old, and we then exclusively used gDiapers up until her recent potty training journey. We fell in love with not only the fantastic product and customer service, but also with the community of parents and children that came with it. I’ll always be grateful for gDiapers for the lasting and lifelong friendships I’ve made!

From our love of healthy living and cloth diapering formed a small work at home business called Jae’s Gems. Here at Jae’s Gems our philosophy is to help others therapeutically through holistic gemstone therapy. We strive to make community connections often with others whom have the same healthy mindsets and goals. When we learned of gDiapers and EMC teaming up, we knew it was a cause we would stand behind, and continue to support. We are very thankful to be able to show our support with two incredible organizations to help bring action and raise funds for maternal healthcare.

– Melissa East

We can’t make this stuff up! Our hearts are just so full. Our Facebook page is brimming with your photos and stories and uplifting words toward each other. You have joined the gDiapers community at every parenting stage, from first pregnancy to baby #4, from waiting on adoption to bringing baby home. And so many of you have stuck around long after your children stopped needing diapers altogether! You continue to nurture the new families in our community, reinforcing that bridge, spreading those good vibes. There’s no analogy necessary. We designed the diaper. But you? You designed the gDiapers community. We are eternally grateful.